Texans wary of struggling Titans

Sunday

A week after beating Peyton Manning in Denver, the Texans (3-0) will face another old nemesis when Johnson and Tennessee (1-2) visit Reliant Stadium on Sunday. Johnson, a three-time Pro Bowl selection, has been curiously unproductive this season, rushing for only 45 yards on 33 carries through three games.

But the Texans have seen Johnson burn them too many times to take him for granted.

In 2009, Johnson rushed for 197 yards, including a 91-yard touchdown run in a loss to Houston in Nashville, then ran for 151 yards in a victory at Reliant Stadium two months later. He rushed for 130 yards in another win over the Texans in 2010.

"I keep telling everybody the same thing," Houston defensive end Antonio Smith said. "None of his skills have gone away. At any given time, you can make a couple mistakes and let him get a big run and it boosts his confidence up, and you'll be looked at as the first team that re-emerged Chris Johnson's running streak. I don't want that to be us."

Johnson set 2,000 yards rushing as his goal in the preseason. He's hardly gotten a chance to run this year, and seems more like the guy who mustered a career-low 1,047 yards in 2011 after a contract holdout.

Texans coach Gary Kubiak points to Tennessee's demanding early schedule as another factor in the struggles of both Johnson and Tennessee, which ranks last in rushing offense (39 yards per game).

Tennessee coach Mike Munchak concedes that the Titans are still "a work in progress" and trudging through the kinks on a retooled offensive line.

But Tennessee opened with a 34-13 loss to New England, then lost 38-10 at San Diego before beating the Lions last week in Nashville. Trailing often this season, Tennessee has averaged 38.3 passes and a league-low 15 rushes through its first three games.

"We haven't had a lot of opportunities," Munchak said. "I think we've run the ball 40 times in three games. That's not a whole lot because of how some of the games have gone. Within those games, I thought last week we did have some good runs within the game. We just need to get in a game where we get more opportunity to do it and really see where we're at."

Quarterback Jake Locker has led the Titans in rushing in each of their first three games. Munchak concedes that he's "not like a Cam Newton," but his extra dimension certainly has the Texans' attention. Locker has only been sacked twice all season and had a 31-yard run last week. He also threw for a career-high 378 yards, including a 71-yard TD pass to Nate Washington.

"The good thing he does that a lot of young quarterbacks don't do, is he gets away from the rush and then he looks downfield to throw it" Texans defensive coordinator Wade Phillips said. "They've made a lot of big plays that way. A lot of those young quarterbacks will get away and they're just going to run with it."

On the other hand, the Texans' second-ranked defense flustered Manning on his home turf and has overwhelmed the two fresh-faced quarterbacks it's faced this season - Miami's Ryan Tannehill and Jacksonville's Blaine Gabbert.

"He's a young quarterback," Texans defensive end J.J. Watt said of Locker, "so what we need to do is try to force him into mistakes."

Watt has been Houston's most disruptive defensive player this season, with leading the league with 5½ sacks. He's also developed a reputation for swatting passes, with five deflections this season.

"He's been exceptional," Kubiak said. "I don't know that I've seen a player play as well as he's played three weeks in a row. He's off to a tremendous start."

The Texans' offense hasn't been bad, either, ranking fifth in rushing (150.3 yards per game) and seventh overall (394.7 yards per game). And when the Broncos dared quarterback Matt Schaub to beat them deep on Sunday, he connected on long TD passes to Andre Johnson and Kevin Walter.

"Their top players are playing well and making plays, just like you'd hope they would when you have your offense going," Munchak said.

As lopsided as the matchup seems to be on paper, no one is forgetting that it's a key divisional game. The Texans already have a two-game lead over the other three teams in the AFC South, and a win over Jacksonville in hand. The Titans are playing their first division game and think they could turn around their season with a victory in Houston.

"Any division game is always big," Titans left tackle Michael Roos said. "They won the division last year and until somebody unseats them, they're still in the driver's seat. It's a huge game, and we have to be ready to play."

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